?Peace and conflict research has tended to focus on the causes of phenomena such as civil war, terrorism, and state failure. Witold Mucha takes a comparative approach from a peace causes perspective, asking why civil war occurred in Peru but not in Bolivia. It is striking given the structural similarities between Peru from 1980-1995 and Bolivia from 2000-2008, as well as a number of escalation episodes that led Bolivia to the brink of civil war. Mucha explores the measures such as reforms and political dialogue that prevented dangerous consequences.